Someone experiencing a seizure may be unable to call for help. During the seizure, the person having a seizure may lose voluntary muscle control and be unable to call for assistance. Immediately following the seizure, the person having the seizure may be exhausted, unconscious, or disoriented, and unable to call for help or to explain what kind of help is needed.
Two common types of seizures are tonic and clonic. During a tonic seizure, the muscles may tense involuntarily. If a person is standing when a tonic seizure begins, that person may fall over. During a clonic seizure, the muscles may spasm violently, causing rapid, jerking motion that can cause serious injury, such as, for example, injuries from striking nearby objects or injuries to the tongue or soft tissues of the mouth from the teeth. Some seizures may exhibit both kinds of involuntary muscle activity, usually as a tonic phase followed by a clonic phase. Assistance for someone experiencing a seizure is usually focused not on stopping the seizure, but on trying to prevent injuries during the seizure.